1. Background

The Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC), under the Ministry of Health, plays a central role in implementing national health programs and coordinating responses to public health priorities. To ensure operational efficiency, accountability, and compliance with national and partner-funded requirements, RBC has developed draft Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for key functional areas including Finance, Procurement, Human Resources, Logistics, Administration, and Operations.

To strengthen institutional performance and alignment with regulatory and donor compliance frameworks, RBC seeks to engage a qualified consultant to review, streamline, and harmonize these draft SOPs. The exercise will enhance the clarity, efficiency, and consistency of internal processes across departments and ensure conformity with national laws, institutional policies, and donor-funded program requirements (including those of the Global Fund, the AFD Group, CDC, UNICEF, and other partners).

2. Objective of the Assignment

The overall objective of this consultancy is to review and streamline the existing draft SOPs to ensure that they are coherent, comprehensive, compliant, and effectively support efficient service delivery and accountability within RBC.

3. Specific Objectives

The consultancy aims to:

·       Review the draft SOPs for completeness, accuracy, and internal consistency across departments.

·       Ensure alignment of the SOPs with national laws, government procedures, and donor compliance standards.

·       Eliminate redundancies and overlaps between related functional areas.

·       Develop a harmonized SOP structure and format applicable across all departments.

·  Provide actionable recommendations to enhance institutional efficiency, accountability, and transparency.

·       Facilitate validation and finalization of the SOPs through participatory consultation with relevant stakeholders.

4. Scope of Work

The consultant will undertake the following tasks:

1.       Conduct a comprehensive desk review of existing draft SOPs covering:

·       Finance

·       Procurement

·       Human Resources

·       Logistics

·       Administration

·       Operations

2.      Review relevant institutional policies, legal frameworks, and donor guidelines to ensure full compliance.

3.      Engage with heads of departments, program managers, and key staff to collect inputs and validate existing practices.

4.      Identify process gaps, inefficiencies, and areas of overlap or inconsistency.

5.      Propose clear and standardized procedures for each functional area.

6.      Harmonize the SOPs into a unified, user-friendly format.

7.       Facilitate a validation workshop with key stakeholders to present and refine the draft streamlined SOPs.

8.      Produce finalized SOPs and a summary report highlighting key improvements and implementation recommendations.

5. Deliverables

The consultant will produce the following deliverables:

1.       Inception Report – detailing methodology, understanding of the assignment, work plan, and timeline (within one week of contract signing).

2.      Assessment Report – summarizing key findings, gaps, and recommendations from the review process.

3.      Draft Streamlined SOPs – harmonized across all functional areas for review by RBC management.

4.      Validation Workshop Report – summarizing feedback from the validation process.

5.      Final SOPs and Comprehensive Report – finalized and formatted SOPs accompanied by a summary of major improvements and recommendations for implementation.

6. Duration and Timeline

The assignment is expected to be completed within four (4) weeks from the date of contract signing. The detailed schedule of activities will be confirmed during the inception phase.

7. Reporting and Supervision

The consultant will work under the overall supervision of the Deputy Director General of the Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) and will closely collaborate with the Heads of Finance, Procurement, Human Resources, Logistics, Administration, and Operations units and the validation of deliverables will be jointly done by RBC and Expertise France experts.

08. Confidentiality

All documents, data, and information accessed or produced during the course of this assignment shall remain the exclusive property of the Rwanda Biomedical Centre. The consultant shall not use or disclose any information without the written consent of RBC.

09. Ownership of Work

All finalized SOPs and related materials produced under this assignment will be the sole property of the Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) and the Government of Rwanda.